Cable supported roof construction

ABSTRACT

A BUILDING MAY BE ERECTED IN A SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT MANNER BY SUSPENDING THE ROOF ON CABLES EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM A CENTRAL PILLAR. THE PERIPHERY OF THE ROOF RESTS ON A CYLINDRICAL OUTER WALL. THIS WALL MAY BE CONSTRUCTED AS A CLOSED WALL, OR WITH WINDOWS, DOORS OR THE LIKE. A CENTRALLY DISPOSED PILLAR-LIKE PORTION MAY BE ALSO ACCESSIBLE AS A ROOM FOR USE.

Oct. 19, 1971 T. H. CZARNECKI, SR 3,613,322

CABLE SUPPORTED ROOF CONSTRUCTION- Filed March 27, 1970 FIGZ INVENTOR THOMAS H. CZARNECKI SR.

ATTO RNEYS United States- Patent O1 ice 3,613,322 CABLE SUPPORTED ROOF CONSTRUCTION Thomas H. Czarnecki, Sr., 13543 N. Cedarburg Road 64-W, Mequon, Wis. 53092 Filed Mar. 27, 1970, Ser. No. 23,208 Int. Cl..E04b 7/14 US. Cl. 52-83 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A building may be erected in a simple and efficient manner by suspending the roof on cables extending outwardly from a central pillar. The periphery of the roof rests on a cylindrical outer wall. This Wall may be constructed as a closed wall, or with windows, doors or the like. A centrally disposed pillar-like portion may be also accessible as a room for use.

My invention relates to a supported roof construction and more particularly to a method of supporting a roof with cables.

The construction costs incident to the erection of a building are rising sharply. Accordingly, there is a rapidly approaching time when somewhat revolutionary techniques will be adopted to reduce costs and the labor content of a structure. One of the most time consuming parts of house construction resides in the trusses and rafters which support the roof. Therefore, there is a substantial advance over the prior art if all trusses and rafters are removed.

Also, most currently used construction techniques require load bearing walls. This, in turn, restricts the flexible use of the area enclosed within the building. There is a great improvement when the number of these load bearing walls is reduced to a minimum. Then movable partitions may be installed wherever it is convenient to place them.

Accordingly, an object of my invention is to provide new and improved means of constructing a building, in an economical manner. In particular, an object is to reduce costs by supporting a roof on such a building by means of wire cables.

Another object of my invention is to provide new and improved means for supporting the roof of a building having a generally cylindrical contour. Here, an object is to eliminate costly inner beams or supports.

A further object of the invention is to provide a build ing with a maximum amount of unobstructed floor space.

A still further object of my invention, is to provide an economical and simple construction. Here an object is to eliminate all roof support except for vertical outer pillars, a centrally disposed inner support, and cables extending outwardly from the central support.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple structure employing reinforced concrete outer pillars.

In keeping with an aspect of the invention, an architectural construction provides low cost residential buildings with the greatest amount of unobstructed floor space, and the least amount of labor required during construction. This is done by hanging a roof from a central pillar by means of a web of cables radiating outwardly from the pillar to the periphery of the roof. Accordingly, the invention illustrated, described, and claimed herein, provides a means of constructing a low cost building of radial design.

Other and further objects of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the top of a building,

3,613,322 Patented Oct. 19, 1971 showing a vertical outer support, the centrallly disposed pillar-like unit, and the cables suspended thereon;

FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the assembly, showing the roof as suspended by the cables;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the reinforced top of vertical pillars, showing the cable adjustably mounted thereon;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view along line 4-4 of the side of the assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is another fragmentary view of the structure of FIG. 3 (taken along line 55 of FIG. 4) showing the inside view of the structure;

FIG. 6 is a top view looking down at the cable mounting, on the centrally disposed pillar-like portion; and

FIG. 7 is a side view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and showing the cable mounting.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The reference character 10, indicates a pillar-like centrally disposed cylindrical portion constructed of reinforced concrete. This portion is open at its upper end .11 and rests upon a concrete foundation 12. The foundation also forms and supports a part of the floor surface 13, extending outwardly to a plurality of vertical reinforced concrete wall section pillars 14. These vertical pillars are here shown as being equally spaced apart (FIG. 1). At their upper ends these vertical pillars are supported by horizontally disposed channels 15. Obviously, the number of pillars 14 may vary, depending upon the area of the floor surface 13'. The space between the pillars 14, may be in the form of solid walls, or glass surfaces as shown at 16 in FIG. 2. Also, windows or doors may be placed in these walls, depending on the room arrangement or layout of the building.

In FIGS. 3 to 7 inclusive, I show a preferred embodiment of the upper portion of the pillars 14. The upper portion of the centrally disposed cylindrical pillar-like portion 10 is made in a similar manner. These drawings show how to support the cable 17 for suspending the roof 18. The I beams 19 are shown as reinforcing the pillars 14. In greater detail, each I is provided with an upwardly extending member 20 joined to a forming part of the I beam 19. The channels 15 are rigidly attached to the beam 20 by means of two angle irons 24. Each member 20 is equipped with an aperture 21 for receiving a threaded loop 22 of a turn-buckle or a cable 17.

The cable 17 extends in a somewhat upward horizontal direction from one member 20 on the pillar 14 over the top of the cylindrical center portion 10, and in a downward horizontal direction to an oppositely disposed member 20 on a pillar 14 on the opposite side of the building. On top of the center member 10, cable 17 is guided by semi-cylindrical members 25 held in engagement with a flat plate member 26 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). The plate 26 is attached to the top of the center portion 10. The cables are held taut by means of the turn buckles or takeups 23, which may be placed either on both ends or one turnbuckles may be placed on one end of cable 17.

The roof 27 of the building (see FIG. 2) is open at its center 28. A central cap member 29 is disposed over the opening 28. If desired the outer peripheral edge of the roof 27 may be turned up to provide a gutter, shown as 30.

From the above description, it should be apparent that the pillars 14 may be placed in a circular relationship with respect to one another. Panels hung on or suspended from these pillars form the outer wall of the building. They may reinforce in any particular manner, as shown by the I beams 19. These wall panels are held in a rigid relation'ship against one another by the horizontally disposed channels 15. The space between the pillars 14, may be amass;

equipped with walls, windows or doors, depending on the room arrangement.

The cylindrical center portion 10 may have any desired diameter. First, it acts as a center support for the cables 17 extending between the pillars 14. Second, it supports the roof 18. Third, the center portion may also provide an enclosure that is economical to construct. This permits an arrangement of the partitions, in any desired manner. The construction as shown provides a maximum of floor space, and the cable roof supports from the pillars.

Although I have shown a specific arrangement of the parts and features constituting my invention, various changes may be made without departing from the prin ciples. Therefore, the appended claims are to be constructed as covering all equivalents which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United States is:

1. A building comprising a central support element and a plurality of peripherally disposed pillar-like members, a plurality of cables extending from individual ones of said peripheral pillars over the top of said central support to a pillar-like member on the opposite side of said central support, and means associated with each of said cables for taking up slack and holding said cables taut.

2. The building of claim l and wall panels supported between said pillar-like members thereby forming cylindrical peripheral areas of said building.

3. The building of claim 2 and a conical roof suspended over said cables and between said central support and said pillars.

4. The building of claim 3 and a cap roof over the apex of said conical roof.

5. The building of claim 4 and I beams extending between said pillars to brace and support them, aperture means associated with said I beams and said pillars for receiving the ends of said cables.

6. The building of claim 1 wherein said central portion comprises a vertical cylindrical room, and means for giving access to the room formed by said central cylindrical portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,990,838 2/1935 Nemec 5283 2,775,794 1/1957 Keely 52-82 3,449,884 6/1969 Joor II 52-246 X FOREIGN PATENTS 243,805 2/1970 U.S.S.R. 5283 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner 

